U.S. Team Finishes Second at Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup presented by Longines in Rotterdam;

Davis wins Leading Rider Award

Team U.S.A after finishing second in Friday's Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup presented by Longines (Shannon Brinkman)

Lexington, KY - The U.S. string of top Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup performances continued Friday in an exciting showdown at CHIO Rotterdam. Eight teams took on the 12 obstacle challenge of Dutch course designer Louis Konickx and the formidable all female team of Americans Beezie Madden, Laura Kraut, Lauren Hough, and Lucy Davis finished second. With a total score of five faults they were in contention for the win till the very end, and proved to be among the very best competitors in the world.

Making the finish even more exciting for the U.S. team was the performance of its youngest rider, Lucy Davis. Davis, who only last year won the Lionel Guerrand-Hermes Trophy* was the stand-out rider Friday on a team of very accomplished veterans. Her double clear effort was the U.S. team's only one and one of only three in the entire competition. For that she was awarded the Furusiyya Leading Rider of the Day Award...read more>

Alicen Divita led the U.S. individual vaulting effort in Aachen (barnysphotoshop.eu)

Lexington, KY - The first weekend of competition at CHIO Aachen in Aachen, Germany wrapped up Sunday with a day of CVIO3* vaulting competition. Representing the U.S. were sisters Kimberly and Cassidy Palmer (Half Moon Bay, CA) performing their second freestyle test in the Prize of Sparkasse Pas de Duex competition.

On Saturday the pair, vaulting on Wolfgang Renz's Leon 364 and lunged by Wolfgang Renz, finished their first freestyle test with a score of 6.658. That score was good for a fifth place finish. On Sunday the Palmer's improved upon that score, earning a 7.302, and finished one place better in fourth place.

While the Pas de Deux teams were just getting started Saturday, individual vaulters were wrapping up their efforts.

Leading those individual efforts for the U.S. was Redwood City, California's Alicen Divita. The 24-year-old earned a sixth place overall finish in the Prize of Sparkasse Individual Female Competition. Thanks to top ten placings in all three phases of competition* Divita, vaulting on Julie Divita's Pino del Rio and lunged by Elke Lensing, improved upon her tenth place finish at the Aachen CVIO3* in 2012. Divita was tenth in the compulsory competition, an impressive fourth in the technical competition, and eighth in Saturday's freestyle competition...read more>

Wrigley-Miller Drives to Top Three Dressage Finish on Day One at Altenfelden

Lexington, KY - With a score of 48.13 American Misdee Wrigley-Miller finished third, out of a field of thirty four, in the pairs dressage phase of the Altenfelden CAI-A2 on Friday. Her team of Carlos 663 & Beau finished behind Michael Freund of Germany (1st) and Zoltan Nyul of Hungary (2nd). Wrigley-Miller and her team were the twenty second pairs team on the Marathon course Saturday...read more>

John Pearce and Chianto Make it Look Easy to Clinch the Nutrena $30,000 Summer in the Rockies III Grand Prix

John Pearce and Johnny B Good (Mary Adelaide Brakenridge)

Parker, CO- A crowd of spectators gathered to watch spectacular show jumping at the much-anticipated $30,000 Nutrena Summer in the Rockies III Grand Prix in the Kathy and Brad Coors Family Grand Prix Arena at the Colorado Horse Park on a perfect Colorado Saturday afternoon.

In the first round of the event, 19 horse and rider combinations battled it out over international course designer Alan Wade's track, attempting to progress to the jump-off round. Ten would make the cut.

The first to go clear within the 89-second time allowed was John Pearce from Bermuda Dunes, CA, and Johnny B Good, owned by Forest View Farm...read more>

13th Annual Millbrook Horse Trials to Serve as Qualifier for World Equestrian Games

from USEA

Millbrook, NY - The 13th annual Millbrook Horse Trials has been selected as a qualifying event for top equestrians hoping to earn a spot to compete at next year's World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France.

Over the years the Millbrook Horse Trials, which will be held Aug. 1-4 at Coole Park Farm, have drawn an increasingly high level of competitors, including U.S. Olympic team members and other top equestrians on the international Eventing circuit.

"Our selection as a qualifier by the U.S. Equestrian Federation speaks to the quality of competition the Millbrook Horse Trials has come to represent," said Louise Meryman, international eventer and president of the horse trials. "It is a huge honor to gain this kind of recognition. The Millbrook competition has become a 'destination event' for top riders, who build their schedules around this kind of high-level competition."..read more>

Lexington, KY- The U.S. sends a strong group of athletes to Germany to compete across five disciplines at the prestigious CHIO Aachen. The host of the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games, Aachen draws many of the best in the game for world class competition held over ten days. In 2013, the competition runs June 21-30 and will feature 20 talented American athletes.

Dressage

In dressage competition the United States will have representation in each division with six athletes competing on eight horses. The U.S. sends four talented pairs to the CDIO5* which will run June 27-30. Jan Ebeling (Moorpark, CA) will ride his 2012 Olympic veteran Ann Romney, Beth Meyers, and Amy Ebeling's Rafalca. Tina Konyot (Palm City, FL) also brings her Olympic Games partner Calecto V. They will be joined by rising stars Shelly Francis (Loxahatchee, FL) and Patricia Stempel's Doktor. Rounding out the U.S.'s CDIO5* team is Olympic Games and FEI World Equestrian Games Team medalist Steffen Peters (San Diego, CA), who will ride Four Winds Farm's Legolas 92.

Driving

The U.S. sends two of its most experienced drivers into CAIO-4 competition this week in Aachen. The driving portion of CHIO Aachen will run June 25-30 and hosts 25 competitors from 10 nations. Chester Weber (Ocala, FL) is no stranger to success in international competition, having won four FEI World Championship medals. Recently, he won at the Saumur CAI-A4 with his own and Jane Clark's team, he looks to win his second competition in the month of June in Aachen. Jimmy Fairclough (Newtown, NJ) has represented the U.S. at numerous championships and has more than five National Titles to his name. He will look to utilize that experience as he drives a leased team from Koos de Ronde.

Eventing

The 2013 Aachen CICO3* represents a new challenge for the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team as they contest the highly regarded competition for the first time. A team of four experienced riders are set to try and help the United States secure CICO3* victory in their inaugural effort.

Jumping

Always a destination competition for the top jumpers in the world, the Aachen CSIO5* once again hosts the very best in the game June 25-30 as 62 riders from 17 nations line up. The U.S. will be represented by two of its most experienced and accomplished competitors.

From its inception, the Western Dressage Association® of America has maintained a focus on education. Our member's quest for knowledge to learn Western Dressage is why the WDAA continues to create opportunities that will benefit the partnership of horse and rider. Just in the last few months, several exciting offerings have become available that will further pave the Western Dressage Journey for all.

In May, WDAA joined HorseShow.com's new Online Coaching program to offer a first in a series of Western Dressage Clinics. The first features Jec A. Ballou, acclaimed Western Dressage clinician and author of 101 Dressage and Western Dressage Exercises. For this clinic, riders have a fantastic opportunity to submit a video of any Western Dressage test, ridden at home or at a live show. Jec will add her evaluation and commentary to the videos, provide coaching feedback and suggest training exercises for improvement. Online clinics are open to riders of all ages and ability as well as horses of all breeds and types granting a universal opportunity to explore the discipline...read more>

Tack and Equipment Funds Established for Happy Valley Farms

from ASHA

Following the devastating fire last week at Marion "Bit" Hutcheson's Happy Valley Farm in Rossville, Georgia, people in the American Saddlebred community are anxious to show their support and sympathy.Accounts have been established at major tack and equipment suppliers across the country so that when the time comes to restock the tack room and the stable, they will have a little help from their friends.

Deborah Richardson remembers all too well the devastation of a barn fire and the overwhelming task of rebuilding and restocking a stable. "When you need everything from a fine harness cart and show bridles to buckets and snaps, every little bit of help is appreciated. This is a great way for people to show their support and hope for Happy Valley's future."...read more>

For all of you participating in IALHA's halter futurity, if you have a horse already nominated that you wish to continue in the program, the re-nomination form and payment is due postmarked ON OR BEFORE 6/30/13. No late payments are accepted.

If you have a new foal nominated, a weanling, yearling or two year old, the denomination fee is $50.00. If you have a three year old that you plan to show at the 2013 National Show, the denomination fee is $150 and no entry fee will be due at the time of the show...read more>

Arabian Horse Foundation Awards 21 Scholarships

from AHA

Aurora, CO - The Arabian Horse Foundation is pleased to announce that it has awarded 21 scholarships to deserving Arabian community youth to be used to help finance their college education. The total amount of the awards is $15,750. For those youths interested in applying for a future scholarships please visit our website at thearabianhorsefoundation.org for the requirements and an application. The Foundation is dedicated to providing and helping our youth obtain a quality education.

We are also grateful to Venture Farm, Pilot Point, Texas for donating a John Deere Gator to the Foundation. The Gator was the prize in our successful raffle and was awarded at the U.S. Arabian Nationals last October. Because of this generous donation we were able to raise $11,200, all of which will be used to fund scholarships...read more>

AMHA is pleased to announce a redesign of its website, www.morganhorse.com. The site went live on Wednesday, June 19.The new website boasts a fluid, clean design with easy-to-use navigation and interface. Its user-friendly design provides easier access to programs, forms, and everything else Morgan! Enhancements to the website include:

A social media deck that allows RSS feeds and connections to Facebook and Twitter

A mobile option for Smartphones

Content has been edited to be clean and concise

All new photographs that will be changed on a regular basis plus a new photo gallery

The AMHA Marketing & Promotion committee, in collaboration with the AMHA IT Committee, used website statistics to determine which pages on the current website were used most often, least often, and the navigation pathways. A membership survey also was conducted to learn about members' social media use, likes/dislikes, and suggestions. From here, a "sitemap" was created to outline the most optimal ways to organize the site...read more>

The vision of the United States Equestrian Federation® is to provide leadership for equestrian sport in the United States of America by promoting the pursuit of excellence from the grassroots to the Olympic Games, based on a foundation of fair, safe competition and the welfare of its human and equine athletes.